Archer Pull Up

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The archer pull up is a fairly advanced pull up progression exercise. It gets its name from how the top of the rep looks similar to drawing a bow. Instead of pulling equally with both arms, one arm does a majority of the work and the other has to be kept straight, which limits how much assistance it can provide. As with the other archer movements, assisting with the straight arm takes a bit of practice. However, once you've got the form down, the archer pull up is a great way to effectively add resistance and continue to improve your pulling strength.

The Basics

The archer pull up is primarily used as a strength exercise. It is classified as a vertical upper pull movement. It is more generally classified as a upper pull movement. Since it involves significant activation of multiple muscle groups, it is considered a compound exercise.

Form

Set Up

• Grasp the bar with an overhand grip much wider than shoulder width apart
• You should be in an active dead hang (arms fully extended, shoulder blades held down and back)
• Keep your chest up, shoulders back, abs engaged, and legs in front of your body

Execution

• Pull your chest to the bar and towards your primary arm by pulling its elbow down and back
• Keep the assisting arm straight, adjusting its grip as needed
• The rep is complete when your chin goes above the bar
• Lower yourself under control back to an active dead hang
• Minimize any swinging before your next rep

Common Mistakes

Bending the Assisting Arm

To perform a true archer pull up, the assisting arm must be kept straight throughout the entire movement. Bending the arm allows it to assist significantly more and making it better classified as an uneven pull up.

Wrapping Your Thumbs

If you're doing pull ups on a pull up bar, wrapping your thumbs can wrist and elbow discomfort. Your hands are already pronated (facing away from you), and wrapping your thumbs can cause them to pronate past the limits of your mobility. This, combined with supporting almost your entire body weight, can lead to discomfort and even injury.

Crossing Your Feet

While not that big of a deal, crossing your feet isn't ideal for core activation. Keep your legs straight if possible.

Arching Your Back

Arching your back can lead to lower back pain. It also decreases core activation and turns what's meant to be a vertical pull into more of a horizontal pull.

Swinging/Kipping

Swinging or kipping changes the focus and difficulty of the exercise significantly. Using momentum from your lower body makes completing the movement much easier and won't develop the pulling muscles nearly as much.

Extending Your Neck

Don't give in to the urge to extend your neck at the top of reps just to get your chin over the bar. Keep your chin tucked and keep a full range of motion for every rep.

Additional Info

Minimal Equipment

All that's needed to do archer pull ups is something that you can safely hang from. This can be a pull up bar, gymnastics rings, playground equipment, or even a tree branch. If you're looking to get a home gym set up, a pull up bar or rings are a great investment. Unlike the standard pull up, archer pull ups require a very wide grip, so narrower bars will make performing proper archer pull ups difficult.

Related Exercises

Reviews

Performance Standard Ranks

The ranks assume that you are generally healthy, with no underlying health conditions or injuries and have the mobility to perform the exercise correctly. You can determine your rank by comparing your numbers to the tables below. Your rank is also tracked automatically when using our Workout Log feature.

Strength Standards

The tables show the one rep max* in pounds needed to reach each rank at different body weights (also in lbs). The 1RMs on the table are based on world records, balanced ratios, and the average time needed to attain each rank. To see personalized strength standards for every exercise, check out the Strength Standards page. You can also find your Strength Score to see how you rank as part of our Fitness Score System.

*Added weight if positive, assistance if negative. The planche and levers are also notable exceptions as they show the moment at the shoulder, not weight. For more info, check out the Moment Calculator page.